Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Bake Pops


 Fun to do with the kiddos


A few weeks back, I ordered a Bake Pop kit online. I went for the buy one/get one deal, which worked out very well monetarily. With shipping and handling the whole total was under $40. Well worth it for something that the girls and I can do together, often, where the possibilities really are endless.

Our first go-round was just...ok. We used the cake mix directions on the box which yielded cake balls that were a touch dry. Upon referring back to the directions that came with the pop pans, we found the trick. They tell you that you can use the directions on the cake mix itself and then add a *note* with ways to make the cake balls better. (read: more moist and dense)

So, we made the next batch following those alternative directions and they came out MUCH better. We added an extra egg, used milk instead of water in half measure, and added a packet of instant pudding mix to match the flavor of the cake. The only mistake we made on the second batch was not using baking spray containing flour. It really does make a huge difference as we noticed on the third batch.

Once all the kinks were worked out, we made about three dozen pops for Hubz to bring to his last clinical day to share with the folks he had been working with and learning from. We made yellow cake balls and dipped half of them in chocolate and sprinkled them with a toffee topping. The other half we dipped the bottom half in peanut butter (melted Reese's chips) and the top half in chocolate then sprinkled them with very finely chopped peanut sprinkles. Hubz said they went over very well! In fact, I have a few emails asking about placing orders.

Overall, I like the consistency of the 'traditional' cake pop (frosting/cake mixture) but the recipe we used with the Bake Pop pans is pretty good too. The fact that they are easier to make with a LOT less mess is a good enough reason for me to use the pans more often than not when making these tasty treats!

I also tried the pans out using brownie mix. I used the directions on the box and they were delicious!  The next recipe we are going to try is peanut butter cookie pops.Yum!










Saturday, March 17, 2012

My Mom



Losing a family member is never easy, is it?

Today is my mom's birthday. In April, she will have been gone six years. She was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer in early March, 2006 and was gone six weeks later. It was horrible to watch someone with such a beautiful smile and expressive eyes become but a shell of her former self in such rapid fashion.

I really intended to write a nice, long post about how much I miss her but sitting here staring at the screen...I just do not have it in me. Instead, a few memories...

I have always loved this picture...



This is the song my mother sang to me as a child...


It took me a LONG time to NOT remember her the way she was in the end but like this...



Her smile and personality was infectious. Her sense of humor was razor sharp and hysterically funny.


I am glad I finally can remember her this way. I am not sure that I will ever stop missing her. The sting is still there, just not as often. I guess that is something. 

I love you today and always, Patty Lee. (3/17/48~4/19/2006)

Thanks for reading.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Monday Mish-Mosh



Baby Vivi's 1st birthday celebration.
3-4-12


Sitting here in my car while Girl-9 and Girl-8 are at their weekly dance lessons I am painfully aware of how attached I have become to technology. Specifically, I am referring to my smart phone. I don't get much time to myself and I typically use this hour to catch up on my Words with Friends matches and blogs of friends that I am terribly behind on.


Today, I intended to use this hour to chat ( yes, actual voice conversation) with my friend Charity. I fully expect to get home and find a few texts from her wondering why I haven't called. Of course, by the time this is posted, she will already know what happened. Sorry Charity!


Onto what today's post is really supposed to be about...


Yesterday we celebrated Baby Vivi's first birthday. (her birthday is coming up this week) She had a great time watching the house full of people who were there just for her. She got to dig into her very own cake (like every 1 y/o ought to) and she did a great job! She got some really nice gifts, her favorites being a Brobee doll and a musical, light-up telephone. I wonder, could it be that there is something built into the female DNA that makes us love the phone?



A big thank-you on behalf of Baby Vivi to everyone who shared in her birthday celebration!

As for me, I start school tomorrow. I mentioned in a previous post that I will be studying to become a   paralegal. Back when I decided to go to school to become a medical assistant, I had been vacillating between the medical and legal field. At that time, I was not ready to spend most of my day behind a desk so I chose the medical field. I loved it the entire time and if I could remain in it...no doubt I would. but, my restrictions being what they are forced me to choose a new path and so here I am. I look at it as being able to travel down a road I had always considered anyway but could only do one thing at a time. In that sense, I consider myself fortunate.


Not much else going on. Hubz is settling into his new work schedule. He seems to like being in his field of choicer and is encouraged to have his foot in the door. Graduation will come sooner than he knows it and hospitals love to hire from within when they can. I  am proud of him. He is going to do very well.